Russian Journalist Gets 7 Years In Jail On 'Extremism' Charges

MOSCOW -- A court in Moscow has convicted an opposition journalist on charges of terrorism and extremism, sentencing him to seven years in prison.

The Moscow Regional Military Court on April 20 issued the ruling against Boris Stomakhin on April 20.

The sentence also bans Stomakhin from working as a journalist for five years.

The ruling consolidates sentences imposed against Stomakhin in several previous cases.

He had initially been sentenced to five years in prison in 2006 and to 6 1/2 years in jail in 2014 on charges of inciting ethnic hatred and extremism, and threatening the territorial integrity of Russia.

Those charges were filed after articles he wrote criticizing Moscow's policies in the North Caucasus were published by the Kavkazcenter.com website, which is associated with Islamic insurgency.

Stomakhin pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and insists the cases against him were politically motivated.